He's Not Leaving
by Spnchick09
Summary: It won't be easy. It'll be damn excruciating sometimes, but he's not leaving her again. Oneshot, Dizzie.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Grey's Anatomy. (Unfortunately.)

**Author's Note: **So, I'm a die-hard Dizzie fan, and you can obviously tell that by the Grey's Anatomy fictions I've written so far. I promise, I have a multi-chaptered Dizzie fic coming soon, where Denny will be _alive, _but for now, I've got another one-shot idea. And I would **_love _**it if you'd read and review.

* * *

Denny's death had affected Izzie in ways she hadn't thought possible. For two months, she hadn't been able to do anything but sit in her bed and stare at the wall opposite her. Her eyes were empty, her breaths quiet and choppy, and her bedroom had become a dark and desolate wasteland. That's all she was doing now. Wasting away. And even though she knew Denny would scold her for the way she was grieving, she couldn't seem to heal.

At night, she'd toss and turn, getting ten minutes of sleep if she tried hard enough. She was horribly sleep-deprived, starved, and would be dehydrated if Meredith didn't force bottles of water down her throat. The most Meredith could get her to eat, however, were crackers, and both women knew that wouldn't suffice much longer.

Every time that she'd try to fall asleep, she'd see an image of him laying in the hospital bed, his skin rapidly losing its color and turning blue, and his open eyes lifeless, something that caused Izzie to shiver every time she remembered it. His eyes would brighten with every word he said that had even the slightest hint of sarcasm or taunting to it. They'd brighten merely at the sight of her walking in to see him.

But when she'd walked in on the night of his death, his eyes stayed the same. They were empty, not even noticing her walk in. And the memory stifled her breathing.

"Damn it," she whispered, bringing her legs up to her chest and holding them there. Tears were forming in her eyes again, and memories flooded back to her.

She suddenly felt extremely tired, and wasn't surprised, honestly. She'd barely slept in two months, and feeling exhausted could only be expected. Sighing, she lowered her back to the mattress, pulling the blanket over her and resting her head on her pillow. And for the first time in eight weeks, sleep overtook her.

_

* * *

She walked slowly, the sound of her half-inch heels clicking against the ground below her. Everything was white, and as far as Izzie could see, there wasn't an end to wherever she was._

"_Hey, sweetheart."_

_She turned quickly, that raspy voice easily recognized by her. A smile grew on her face quickly, and she ran over to him, smiling. _

_"Denny," she whispered, hugging him tight._

"_Hey, Izz," he greeted, his voice shaky and filled with emotion. "God, it's good to see you."_

_Izzie sniffled, sobbing into his shoulder. "You have no idea," she whispered, her voice muffled._

_Denny pulled away slightly, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "You're still beautiful."_

_Izzie grinned, laughing. "Did you expect me to get ugly?"_

_Denny laughed, his eyes finally full of life again. "No."_

_Izzie grinned, wrinkling her nose. "Good."_

_Denny's smile faded, and he held her hands in his. "Come on," he beckoned, sitting down._

_She sat down with him, shivering as his arm worked around her waist and pulled her back into him, his legs on either side of her._

"_Why are you doing this to yourself, baby?" Denny asked._

_Izzie laid her head back against his shoulder, taking in his familiar scent. "Doing what?"_

"_You can't stay in your room for the rest of your life. You have to accept this, Izz."_

"_Accept what?" she asked defensively._

_Denny rolled his eyes, stroking her arm. "Izzie, don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about."_

_Izzie sighed, tears filling her eyes again. "I just can't yet, Denny."_

"_When will you be able to, Izz?" he asked. "How long will it take?"_

_Izzie sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I don't know, Denny. I really don't know."_

_Denny sighed, resting his forehead against her hair. "Izz, don't do this. I love you too damn much to watch you hurt like this."_

"_What am I supposed to do, Denny?" she asked, turning to look in his eyes. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"_

_Denny stared back into her eyes, searching them intently. "Moving on doesn't mean you have to stop loving me," he replied simply. "But you need to realize that you can move on. You don't have to grieve the rest of your life."_

_Izzie sighed, looking away from him. "It's just so hard, Denny."_

"_I didn't say it was going to be easy," he told her, pulling her into his arms. "It's going to be damn excruciating sometimes."_

"_That's comforting," she replied, rolling her eyes._

_Denny couldn't help but smile at her sarcasm, and kissed her forehead. "Just trust me, okay, Izz? You're the strongest woman I know."_

_Izzie was quiet, looking back up at him with a softer gaze. "Will you come back?"_

_Denny smiled, the corners of his mouth barely turning downwards as he held back tears. "Yeah, I'll be back. I'm not leaving you, Izzie."_

"_How often?" she asked._

"_Whenever you feel lonely, or tired, or you just want to have a good cry," he promised. "I'm not leaving you."_

"_So if I'm supposed to get over you, how will this help?"_

"_What, me coming back?"_

_She nodded._

"_Because you'll realize that no matter how long you go without me, I'm still here. And sooner or later, I won't even have to come back anymore, because you'll be healing on your own."_

_Izzie smiled softly, kissing him. "I don't want to leave," she sighed._

_Denny smiled. "Believe me, baby, if I had a choice, you'd stay here. But I think Meredith and George would get a little worried if you just slept the rest of your life."_

_She giggled, allowing him to lift her up. He sighed, looking down at her with a grin. "I love you."_

"_I love you, too," she replied, reaching up and kissing him._

_As they broke away, Denny wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "Don't cry, Izz."_

"_I don't want to go," she whispered, stamping her foot lightly. "I can't, Denny."_

_Denny shushed her, stroking her hair. "You have to, Izzie. Don't make this harder on me," he pleaded, grasping her hands in his._

"_Just..." Izzie began, sniffling. "Promise me that you'll be back."_

_Denny shook his head, biting his bottom lip. "I promise, Izz."_

_And with that, he was gone._

* * *

"Izzie, George and I are leaving. You need anything?" Meredith asked.

Izzie's eyes opened, Meredith's calm voice awaking her. "Huh?" she asked.

"We're going to work. You need me to bring anything home?"

Izzie sat up slowly, feeling lightheaded. "Could you..." she began, smiling softly. "Could you bring me some brownie mix? Or anything I could bake?"

"Izzie," Meredith began, furrowing her brows in confusion, "you sure?"

Izzie nodded. "Yeah. I need something to do, anyway. I get bored," she chuckled.

Meredith, shocked by Izzie's sudden attitude, nodded. "Okay. I'll pick some up."

"Thanks," Izzie replied, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

Meredith nodded, heading out of Izzie's room.

"Meredith!" Izzie called.

"Yeah?" Meredith asked, sticking her head in the doorway.

"Can you help me up? I haven't stood in months, and I don't want to hurt myself. I'm not really in the mood to be operated on by McDreamy."

Meredith chuckled, helping Izzie stand. Izzie's knees buckled, and she grasped Meredith for support, breathing hard. After a few minutes, Izzie released her grip and was able to stand on her own.

"You okay?" Meredith asked.

Izzie nodded. "Yeah. I'll just walk slow," she replied, breathing deeply.

"Can I ask you something?" Meredith asked, tilting her head.

Izzie nodded.

"Why are you so much better all of a sudden?"

Izzie smiled, brushing a blonde curl out of her face. "Because Denny's not leaving me."


End file.
